Victim Rights Law Center

The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to victims of rape and sexual assault in Massachusetts and Oregon.[4] Established in 2003, it became the first nonprofit law center in the United States solely dedicated to serving the legal needs of sexual assault victims.[5] The VRLC mission is to "provide legal representation to victims of rape and sexual assault to help rebuild their lives and to promote a national movement committed to seeking justice for every rape and sexual assault victim."[6] VRLC also seeks to transform the legal response to sexual assault in the United States.[7][8]

Victim Rights Law Center
Founded2003
FounderSusan Vickers[1]
TypeLegal services organization
FocusSexual assault
Location
OriginsOriginally a project of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center
Area served
United States
Key people
Stacy Malone, Esq., Executive Director

Jessica Mindlin, Esq., National Director of Training and Technical Assistance[2]

Colby Bruno, Esq., Senior Counsel[3]
Websitevictimrights.org

The Victim Rights Law Center began as a project of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center in 2000. Founder Susan Vickers focused the organization's legal services on victims assaulted by non-intimate partners. The organization became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2003. VRLC has expanded nationally after receiving a grant from the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women.[9] Through the grant, VRLC is providing technical assistance and training to other organizations serving sexual assault victims throughout the United States.[6]

VRLC provides its clients with legal assistance and assists when they are having difficulty with employers, schools or insurance companies.[10] The organization also advocates for the rights of rape victims.[11] After a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision made it easier for defense lawyers to review mental health records of victims of sexual assault, VRLC criticized the ruling, saying it would discourage rape victims from getting counseling.[1]

See also

References
  1. Saltzman, Jonathan. Easier access to rape-case data criticized: Victims' advocates decry SJC decision. The Boston Globe. January 3, 2007.
  2. Smith, Carol., Van der Voo, Lee. One woman's ordeal brings change to state system. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. February 25, 2010.
  3. Friedman, Jaclyn (March 14, 2010). "To combat rape on campus, schools should stop keeping it quiet". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. About the VRLC, Victim Rights Law Center website. Retrieved 2010-07-08
  5. Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.
  6. VRLC History, VRLC website. Retrieved 2010-07-08
  7. Beyond the Criminal Justice System: An Introduction to Transforming Our Nation's Legal Response to Rape. The Advocate's Quarterly. 2007 Issue 1.
  8. Assaulted and abandoned: Sexual assault survivors on campus often are victimized again by colleges. The Oregonian. June 19, 2010.
  9. FY 2007 Office on Violence Against Women Grant Activity by State. USDOJ: Office on Violence Against Women.
  10. Manganis, Julie. Child rape victim faces new struggles even as case ends. Salem News. October 20, 2007.
  11. Mindlin, Jessica (2007). Beyond the criminal justice system: using the law to help restore the lives of sexual assault victims : a practical guide for attorneys and advocates. Victim Rights Law Center. p. 148.

Official website

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